Massage therapy is well known and it has been experienced that creating a magnetic field in association with the therapy may enhance any effect of the massage. However, conventional massage therapy devices are often disadvantageous when used to massage certain areas of the body which are difficult to access, such as the neck or under the arm. For example, devices of the type having a carrier and magnetic balls, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,159 are disadvantageous for certain uses in that exposure of the balls to the body is compromised as a significant portion of each ball is inside the carrier and is not available for contacting the body. Also, accomplishing such massage without assistance is often difficult, particularly when the area of the body to be treated is difficult to reach, such as ones back. Thus, there is a need in the art for a device that enables self massage of hard to reach areas and in particular for an improved carrier.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved device for accomplishing massage therapy.
Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described which enables a user to massage difficult to reach body portions.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described which facilitates massage therapy as compared to conventional devices.
A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described which is suitable for accomplishing massage of virtually the entire body.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described which is suitable for use by an individual for self massage.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a massage system having a carrier and pressure applicators mountable to the carrier wherein the carrier is configured to maximize exposure of the pressure applicators to the body of the user.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described which is cost effective and uncomplicated in configuration
With regard to the foregoing and other objects, the invention provides a massage system Including a carrier and at least one pressure applicator rotatably and releasably mountable to the carrier, wherein the carrier covers less than about 25% of the surface area of the pressure applicator.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a massage system including a carrier and a plurality of pressure applicators rotatably and releasably mountable to the carrier. The carrier is graspable by a user for manipulation by the user to movably bear the pressure applicators against body portions of the user or body portions of others, the carrier being configured to maximize exposure of the pressure applicators to the body portions and including an elongate handle portion configured for grasping by a hand of the user and a mounting section for rotatably and releasably receiving the pressure applicators, the mounting section covering less than about 25% of the surface area of each pressure applicator.
A significant aspect of the invention relates to the provision of a carrier which enables at least about 75% of the surface area of the pressure applicators to be exposed for contact with the body of a user at any moment. This is advantageous in that it enables use of the massage device in otherwise difficult to access areas and further facilitates use of the massage system by oneself. Thus, the system of the invention enables a greater percentage of the body of the massage recipient to be massaged as compared to prior devices.